How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Floribunda Roses

Roses are a classic garden plant with some of the loveliest flowers around. These pretty plants make a wonderful addition to the garden. Nothing compares to their stunning blooms in a floral arrangement. While hybrid tea roses may take the cake in the cutting garden, floribunda roses certainly have a place in the landscape. Let’s take a look at these pretty rose shrubs.

What are Floribunda Roses?

Floribundas are hybrid roses created by crossing hybrid tea and polyantha roses. The resulting plants carry on qualities of both plants. They have the larger and more fragrant qualities of the hybrid teas, although the flowers are not quite as large. However, they bloom in clusters like their polyantha parent plants. 

As their name implies, these plants produce an abundance of flowers. The flowers have a wider and more open form than hybrid teas. A hybrid tea rose flower ranges in size from three to six inches across. Three and a half inches will be about the maximum size of a single floribunda bloom. 

These plants have more of a low, shrubby appearance as well. Hybrid teas are usually taller, with long, upright growing stems. This makes the floribunda a nice landscape element, in addition to a great cut flower. They are also more cold-tolerant, in general. 

History

Dines Poulson is responsible for breeding the first floribunda rose in the early 1900s. That rose, ‘Rodhatte,” was first introduced in 1912. It was a cross between a polyantha and a hybrid tea rose. Poulson and his brother Svend would go on to breed several other varieties of this type of rose. 

The brothers resided in Denmark, where the summers are short and cool, and the winters are long and cold. Their cultivation led to roses with better cold tolerance than their hybrid tea parents. 

Floribunda breeding caught on in the United States in the 1920s with the company Jackson and Perkins. They introduced their cultivar, aptly named ‘World’s Fair,” at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. 

The famed floribunda breeder, Eugene Boerner cultivated a great many varieties during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. 11 of his hybrids won the All American Rose Selections award (AARS).

Native Area

Floribunda roses are all hybrids, so they do not have a native range. Their parentage comes from hybrid tea roses and polyanthas, which are native to Asia. 

Characteristics

These roses are most famous for being prolific bloomers. The name floribunda means ‘flowering in abundance,’ and they certainly do. In the fashion of their polyantha parents, they form clusters of flowers rather than singles. 

The shrubs are lower growing than their hybrid parent, topping out around three feet tall. They tend to spread out wider than their height, creating an attractive shrub. Their denser, shrubbier form makes them more desirable as landscape plants than taller, leggier hybrid teas. 

Floribundas bloom freely from late spring until fall. Rather than the single, pointed buds and well-ordered blooms of hybrid teas, these flowers grow in multiples. They are smaller overall but bloom in much greater numbers. The blooms also tend to open farther and have a pretty, wild cottage rose aesthetic. 

The plants are more cold-tolerant than most hybrid roses. They are all tolerant to Zone 5, with many hardier varieties able to survive the winters of Zone 4. Their flowers come in a full range of rose colors. These shrubby roses look incredible in mass plantings. 

Not all floribundas are fragrant, but many are. Many of the more fragrant varieties smell of citrus or spice. They are considered lower maintenance and easy to care for compared with hybrid tea roses. 

Uses

Their shrubby shape and dense foliage make them a great landscape plant. They work well as a long hedge, border, or focal point. As a mass planting, they are spectacular. 

This rose’s seeds, like most roses, have a high nutrient density. They produce hips that are a rich source of vitamin C. The flowers and hips are excellent for baking and making preserves. Rose flowers are edible and make an attractive garnish.  

Where to Buy Floribunda Roses

These popular roses are available at many nurseries. You will also find them readily available online and in catalogs.  

Planting

The ideal time to plant floribunda roses is in the spring. This is especially important if you are planting bare-root roses. Plant bare-root roses in spring before they come out of dormancy. Potted roses can be planted in the spring or fall (to give them time to establish before hot summers and cold winters, respectively). 

Choose a spot with full sun. Southern exposure is best and will provide your rose bush with the greatest amount of light. Dig a hole that is as deep and at least one and a half times as wide as the root ball. Fill the hole with water before planting. 

For bare-root roses, pour some compost or other nutrient-dense soil into a mound in the hole. Spread the roots over the mound and backfill the hole. Place your potted rose in the hole, and turn it to orient it the way you would prefer. 

Backfill the hole, making sure to cover the grafting juncture at the bottom of the main stem. This will help to prevent the rootstock from forming suckers. After backfilling, water your rose in heavily. Backfill again to fill in any depression left after watering. 

After you have planted and watered in your rose, apply a heavy layer of mulch. Roses like moisture and the mulch will not only help hold in moisture, it will protect the roots as well. 

How to Grow

Floribunda roses are easygoing and low-maintenance plants in the rose world. They tend to be more disease-resistant and cold-tolerant than their hybrid tea parent plants.

Light

Roses are sun-loving plants that will bloom best when given six to eight hours of exposure, daily. The more sun you give these plants, the more flowers they will produce. They may be more susceptible to fungal issues when planted in partial shade. 

As is the case for most plants, the morning sun is ideal, as it is cooler and less harsh. If you are going to give your roses any shade, it should be in the afternoon when the sunlight is hotter and harsher. 

Water

Most rose gardeners operate under the guideline that the best way to water is deeply, but not as often. In other words, it is better to water once per week, and water more thoroughly. This is as opposed to watering more frequently but giving less water. 

The reason for this is that watering deeply encourages your rose to send their roots deeper into the ground. A deeper root system means a healthier plant with better drought tolerance. Those deep roots will have better access to groundwater during times of less rainfall. 

Soil

As much as roses like a nice long drink, they do not tolerate standing water. Wet roots are a recipe for fungal disease, so an important factor in your soil is drainage. Roses utilize a lot of nutrients, so the fertility of the soil is also an important factor.

If you have naturally loose, loamy, rich soil, you may be able to plant your rose without any amending. If your soil is dense or hard and doesn’t drain well, make sure to add some coarse sand or other material to increase drainage. We recommend pouring some organic compost or manure into the hole when planting your rose. This will give the plant a head start. 

In terms of soil pH, roses like slightly acidic soil. A pH of 6-6.5 is ideal. If the soil is not acidic enough, the plant will struggle to gain the right nutrients from the soil. If the soil is much more acidic, the soil won’t release some important nutrients. 

Temperature and Humidity

Floribundas have a reputation for excellent hardiness and temperature tolerance. They are more cold-hardy than hybrid tea roses, and they have great heat tolerance as well. You can rely on your floribunda roses to do just fine in temperatures up to 90°-100°F. 

Their cold tolerance is better than most roses. Floribundas are hardy to Zone 4 in most cases, which means their roots tolerate temperatures well below freezing. Some preparation for winter will be a benefit to their survival and rebound in the spring. 

These roses are more tolerant of humidity than most roses, as well. They are happiest with normal humidity levels. However, they are known to thrive in high humidity. Just be careful about air circulation and fungus if you live in a more humid climate.  

Fertilizing

Roses are heavy feeders, and even when planted in fertile soil, they perform best with some fertilizer. Your first application of fertilizer should be higher in nitrogen. This will contribute to a bigger, stronger plant with healthy foliage. 

As the plant gets closer to flowering, switch to a balanced, slow-release formula such as a 10-10-10 NPK ratio. This will encourage the healthy development of the roots, foliage, and flowers. 

In terms of frequency, fertilize these roses every two to four weeks throughout the growing and blooming season. Begin by digging a channel that has a one-and-a-half-foot radius around the base of the plant. Fill the channel with water, and then add in your water-soluble fertilizer. After the fertilizer and water have been absorbed, fill the channel with water again. 

The growth season spans all the spring and summer. Once the weather begins to cool in the fall, stop fertilizing. Fertilizer encourages tender new growth, which is more vulnerable to freezing weather. 

Maintenance

As roses go, floribundas are not especially high maintenance. Roses, in general, though, do require some special care, and these are no exception. Prune your roses twice a year. 

The first pruning of this rose should happen in the spring.  Before the plant begins to put out foliage, cut all the stems back by at least six inches. Cut any damaged or weak stems back more. Pruning in the spring leads to healthier growth and more flowering in the summer. 

In the fall, to prepare for winter, you can cut the flowers off or leave the hips in place to feed birds. You don’t need to cut the plant back entirely. You do want to trim off any very long branches that wind or snow may damage. 

Wait until just before you expect the first frost of the season to prune in the fall. If you prune too early, it will encourage new growth, and that will be more vulnerable to frost. Spread a heavy layer of mulch around the base of the plant to protect the roots. 

Deadheading is a helpful practice, too. During the season, remove spent blooms to encourage more flowering.

Growing in Containers

Floribunda roses can be quite happy in a pot. They tend to be wide plants, so choose a large container that will accommodate the roots and balance out the top of the plant. A ten-gallon pot is one that your plant will grow into, and you won’t have to re-pot often. This will be deep enough to accommodate the mature root system. 

In terms of potting medium, a mixture is best. Use 2/3 standard potting mix and mix in 1/3 compost of manure for added nutrients. You will need to water and fertilize your potted rose more often than those planted in the ground. 

You may need to water your potted rose as often as every two days. Don’t let the soil dry out completely. As long as your pot has proper drainage, watering often will not harm the plant. Fertilize your potted rose every two to three weeks during the growing and blooming season. 

Propagation

Most floribunda roses don’t grow on their own roots. They are grafted onto hardier rootstock. Because of this, propagating them from cuttings will not yield as strong a plant as the parent plant. However, it can be done. 

To propagate your rose, take stem cuttings from new growth. The best time to propagate is in mid-summer when there is plenty of tender growth to choose from. Your cutting should be about six to eight inches long.

Remove any foliage that will sit below the soil line and dip the end of your cutting in the rooting hormone. Place the ends of your cuttings into moist soil in small containers or directly in the ground. Keep your cuttings moist constantly until new growth forms. New growth will let you know that your cuttings have rooted. 

Popular Varieties

Julia Child

	botanical name Rosa ‘Wekvosstono’ PP 18,473
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Buttery yellow flowers and a spicy licorice scent make this rose aptly named. ‘Julia Child’ is a very popular cultivar, and for good reason. This 2006 winner of the All-America Rose Selections is a wonderfully robust bloomer. The flowers start out a deep yellow with a darker center. They age to a lovely pale yellow. This rose blooms for up to five months in the spring and summer. 

Iceberg

	botanical name Rosa ‘KORbin’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4’
	hardiness zones 5-11

‘Iceberg’ and many of its variations are highly popular as well. The original variety produces an abundance of pure white blooms. This rose has excellent heat tolerance but is not quite as cold-hardy as some floribundas. Other related roses come in shades of pink, as well as white with pink speckles. 

Bonica 82

	botanical name Rosa ‘Bonica 82’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4’
	hardiness zones 4-11

‘Bonica’ is one of the most popular roses around. Clusters of perfectly pink roses bloom prolifically on this mid-sized shrub rose. This plant covers itself in blooms through the summer months. If not deadheaded, the spent flowers will turn into brilliant red hips that will bring birds to your garden in the fall. This rose is very sturdy, cold hardy, and heat tolerant.

Disneyland

	botanical name Rosa ‘JACmouse’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3’
	hardiness zones 5-9

This extravagantly long-blooming rose gets its name from the most magical place on earth. ‘Disneyland’ is one of the most stunning cultivars I’ve ever seen. The flowers are a difficult color to put a name to. The outer petals are coppery orange with a hint of pink. They open to reveal bright orange centers. This compact rose is great for containers or any space you want to brighten up.

Common Problems

Floribunda roses, like other roses, come with their fair share of issues. When it comes to disease resistance, these roses fall in the middle of the road. They are hardier than hybrid tea roses but not quite as resistant as old garden roses. 

Diseases

Fungal diseases are the most common to face floribunda roses. Powdery mildew, black spot, and downy mildew can all be issues for these plants. Some other diseases that you may run into with your roses include botrytis blight, canker, rust, and crown gall. 

Keeping your roses healthy and well-nourished is a step in the right direction. A healthy plant will be able to rebound better from diseases. Keeping the soil draining and air circulation through your rose’s foliage are good ways to prevent fungus. 

Pests

When it comes to common rose pests, the aphids are the number one enemy of floribundas. These sap-sucking insects like to feed on the buds of this plant. This can cause significant damage and reduction of blooms. 

To rid your roses of aphids and other pests, try spraying them off with a direct spray from the hose. As a last resort, try neem oil. Always apply neem oil in the late afternoon to avoid harming pollinators. It needs to dry overnight before they come out to pollinate your roses. 

Lack of Flowers

A lack of flowers typically means one of two things. The most likely reason your rose isn’t blooming is a lack of sunlight. Roses need at least 6 hours of direct sun per day to do their best blooming. 

The other culprit behind a lack of blooms is a lack of nutrients. If your rose isn’t getting enough of the nutrients it needs to bloom, it probably won’t. Try feeding with a high phosphorus fertilizer to help your rose along.

Frequently Asked Questions